Scholars have theorized about whether or not Freyja and the goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single goddess common among the Germanic peoples ; about her connection to the valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain ; and her relation to other goddesses and figures in Germanic mythology, including the thrice-burnt and thrice-reborn Gullveig / Heiðr, the goddesses Gefjon, Skaði, Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa, Menglöð, and the 1st century BCE " Isis " of the Suebi.

The connection with and possible earlier identification of Freyja with Frigg in the Proto-Germanic period ( Frigg and Freyja origin hypothesis ) is a matter of scholarly debate.

Like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the Vanir, the name Freyja is not attested outside of Scandinavia, as opposed to the name of the goddess Frigg, who is attested as a goddess common among all Germanic peoples, and whose name is reconstructed as Proto-Germanic * Frijjō.

Regarding a Freyja-Frigg origin hypothesis, scholar Stephan Grundy comments that " the problem of whether Frigg or Freyja may have been a single goddess originally is a difficult one, made more so by the scantiness of pre-Viking Age references to Germanic goddesses, and the diverse quality of the sources.

In verse, after Loki has flyted with the goddess Frigg, Freyja interjects, telling Loki that he is insane for dredging up his terrible deeds, and that Frigg knows the fate of everyone, though she does not tell it.

In his work Historia Langobardorum, Paul relates how Odin's wife Frea ( Frigg / Freyja ) had given victory to the Langobards in a war against the Vandals.

Frigg is the highest goddess of the Æsir, while Freyja is the highest goddess of the Vanir.

Many arguments have been made both for and against the idea that Frigg and Freyja are really the same goddess, avatars of one another.

There are clearly many similarities between the two: both had flying cloaks of falcon feathers and engaged in shape-shifting, Frigg was married to Odin while Freyja was married to Óðr, both had special necklaces, both had a personification of the Earth as a parent, both were called upon for assistance in childbirth, etc.

There is also an argument that Frigg and Freyja are part of a triad of goddesses ( together with a third goddess such as Hnoss or Iðunn ) associated with the different ages of womankind.

The areas of influence of Frigg and Freyja do not quite match up with the areas of influence often seen in other goddess triads.

Finally, there is an argument that Frigg and Freyja are similar goddesses from different pantheons who were first conflated into each other and then later seen as separate goddesses again ( see also Frige ).

Examples of goddesses attested in Norse mythology include Frigg ( wife of Odin, and the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is namesake of the modern English weekday Friday ), Skaði ( one time wife of Njörðr ), Njerda ( Scandinavian name of Nerthus ), that also was married to Njörðr during Bronze Age, Freyja ( wife of Óðr ), Sif ( wife of Thor ), Gerðr ( wife of Freyr ), and personifications such as Jörð ( earth ), Sól ( the sun ), and Nótt ( night ).

The goddess Freyja declares that Loki must be mad, stating that Frigg knows all fate, yet she does not speak it.

In the Prose Edda, Njord was introduced as " the third among the Æsir ", and among the Asynjur, Freyja is always listed second only to Frigg.

# The sixth is Freyja, who is ranked with Frigg.

" Freyja and Frigg " in Billington, Sandra, and Green, Miranda ( 1998 ).

19th-century scholar Jacob Grimm proposes a reconstruction of a Germanic deity cognate to Sif in other Germanic cultures, and proposes a similar nature to that of the goddesses Frigg and Freyja:

By this sense of the word, Sif would appear to be, like Frigg and Freyja, a goddess of loveliness and love ; as attributes of Oðinn and Thôrr agree, their wives Frigg and Sif have also a common signification.

In the poem Grímnismál collected in the Poetic Edda, Odin ( disguised as Grímnir ) tells the young Agnar that Freyja allots seats to half of those that die in her hall Fólkvangr, while Odin receives the other half ( Fólkvangr is here anglicized to Fôlkvang and Folkvang ):

" Freyja and Frigg " in Billington, Sandra, and Green, Miranda ( 1998 ).

* Stephan Grundy, " Freyja and Frigg " in Billington, Sandra ; Green, Miranda ; ed., The Concept of the Goddess.

In Norse mythology, Brísingamen ( from Old Norse brisinga " flaming, glowing " and men " jewellery, ornament ") is the necklace of the goddess Freyja.

Freyja lends Loki her falcon cloak to search for it ; but upon returning, Loki tells Freyja that Thrymr has hidden the hammer and demanded to marry her in return.

Freyja is so wrathful that all the Æsir ’ s halls beneath her are shaken and the necklace Brísingamen breaks off from her neck.

Later Thor borrows Brísingamen when he dresses up as Freyja to go to the wedding at Jötunheim.

One day when Freyja wakes up and finds Brísingamen missing, she enlists the help of Heimdall to help her search for it.

After a lengthy battle at Singasteinn, Heimdall wins and returns Brísingamen to Freyja.

" Freyja was a human in Asia and was the favorite concubine of Odin, King of Asialand.

When Freyja found her necklace missing, she came to ask king Odin.

None of these earlier sources mentions Freyja or king Olaf Tryggvason, the historical figure who christianized Norway and Iceland in the 10th Century.

The pendant may represent Freyja herself.

Diana Paxson's novel Brisingamen features Freyja and her bracelet.

In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja.

In Norse mythology, Freyja ( Old Norse the " Lady ") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death.

Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvíni, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi.

Stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freja, Freyia, Frøya, Frejya and Freia, Frejya.

Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odin's hall, Valhalla.

Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make her their wife.

Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, and Vanadís.

Freyja is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources ; in the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, both written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century ; in several Sagas of Icelanders ; in the short story Sörla þáttr ; in the poetry of skalds ; and into the modern age in Scandinavian folklore, as well as the name for Friday in many Germanic languages.

Rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art.

The name Freyja is in fact a title meaning " lady ", from Proto-Germanic * frawjōn, cognate with West Frisian frou, Dutch vrouw, Low German Fro, Fru, German Frau.

The theonym Freyja was thus an epithet in origin, replacing a personal name that is now unattested.